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science tea and pure comedy


Happy Sunday! Happy Birthday Weekend (yes, my birthday’s on Monday, but we can all celebrate)! How are you doing? Are you taking time to check-in with yourself and give yourself the care, love, and attention you need? If not, it’s perfectly okay to set aside time for yourself to do whatever you want/need to do during ‘me time.’ Maybe your thing is yoga, meditation, running, reading, tending to a pallet garden you built, sewing some pillowcases for your home decor, making a dress to match your homemade mask, paddle boarding, refurbishing furniture, tooling around with some new tools, or even playing animal crossing with family and friends, but whatever you want to do during your assigned ‘me time,’ make sure you’re doing it and giving yourself a break.

If you didn’t get a chance to read yesterday’s post - “salt mines and bowling alleys” - you can click here to read all about my and my boyfriend’s last day in Salzburg on a salt mine tour and a train ride to Germany for a fun night out in Munich! If you’re all caught up, then buckle up because we’re heading back to Londontown! The final morning with my boyfriend in Munich was bittersweet. We'd spent so much time together over the past 9 or so days, and I'd had such a fun time that I couldn't imagine traveling on without him coming with me. It was hard to say goodbye, but our Eurotrip had to come to an end eventually, so he stayed in Munich and enjoyed some more time with his friend, and I headed off to the airport to get to London.

The last time I was in London, I got to see Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Westminster Palace, Wicked on the West End, Van Morrison perform at BluesFest, Harry Potter & The Cursed Child on the West End, catch up with my friend from boarding school and my friend from London, and watch the Philadelphia Eagles win at Wembley Stadium. My trip back to London this time was solely to spend time with two of my first friends I made in college at Villanova. Joe and Kristen met me at the airport when I landed and planned a lovely science-themed tea for me to kick off my birthday weekend. We got to concoct lemonades, watch dry ice blow our minds, dig for fossils in some “dirt,” and eat delicious tea sandwiches and space-themed desserts! It was such a fun experience and the perfect way to start our weekend together in England!

After science-themed tea, the three of us popped over to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to see “A Comedy of Errors.” It was one of the few things I didn’t get to do on my previous trip to London, and I was so happy I got to share the experience with two of my closest friends. The best part was that for the first 20ish minutes or so of the show (which started with music!), none of us had any idea what was happening, and then - poof - it all clicked! And once it clicked, it was the type of show where everything went wrong and everything was hilarious. The Globe Theatre, itself, was an incredible venue. We opted to actually get seats for the show, but the standing room only section on the ground level offered tickets for just around $5. It’s definitely worth the trip when in London.

After tea and the show we made our way to Paddington Station (be still, my heart), ended up missing our train (partly my fault since I did one of those bag BnB situations), and eventually found a different train to get us back to the countryside to their (at the time new) home! It was a perfect birthday eve with good friends, great tea, and wonderful comedy.

Isn’t it true that when something is good, it doesn’t lose its value? Perhaps that’s why we all still read Shakespeare and can enjoy it when we’re able to see it done well - life’s simple truths. Have you ever experienced a good, live Shakespeare play? Let me know! Subscribe in the e-mail submission box below and reach out, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and reach out to me on the “contact” page. I’m so happy you're here and that I’ve been receiving a lot of really incredible stories, questions, and feedback from a community all over the globe! Other people’s stories that I’ve gotten to read via e-mail, text, tweet, DM, etc. recently bring me such smiles, and I am so grateful for all of it! I hope I get to hear all about whatever stories you’ve been thinking about as we’ve been on this virtual journey together! Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you have any restaurants/eateries/pubs/coffee shops/ice cream joints/theatres/lookout spots you would recommend in other countries or even in your current home town or city, I'm absolutely 100% all ears!! I couldn’t do this without you! So THANK YOU! From the bottom of my heart, truly, thank you.

Sincerely,

Johny

P.S. - If you want to catch up from the beginning on this series of travel adventures, here's a cheat sheet to the posts (in order in which they were published):

1. Won't you join me?

2. grateful for starbucks and sandymount strand

3. Once Upon a December in the National Gallery

4. plant a smooch for that gift of gab

5. may the 4th be with you: Dingle style

6. cinco de mayo: the best Mexican food in Dublin

7. pizza in roma

8. mussolini’s window and the philosophers’ metro stop

9. father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife

10. it's the vatican, not the vatican't

11. spoiler alert: i did not lose my hand

12. more pizza and gelato and Neptune, oh my

13. craft beer, romper season, and volcano magic

14. bus singalongs and the okey dokey karaoke origin story

15. the beginning of the journey to the land of outlander

16. the boy who lived and the musical rapper

17. oh i just can't wait to be kingggg

18. fudge and haggis, quite the dynamic duo

19. the banshee labyrinth... or, my first time trying buckfast

20. the world's most magical toilet

21. gwyneth paltrow's (improv) sliding doors

22. scottish sombreros and jam, thank you

23. bob seger, a cèilidh, and arthur's seat

24. the next maxim cover girl!! 25. you can vote now!!

26. kindness at… the airport??

27. conversations with strangers and #basic meals

28. aren't gas stations amazing?!

29. not just mac's... supermac's

30. American vs. European Cell Phone Providers

31. brown bread ice cream

32. Black Lives Matter

33. technology and theatre

34. a love of Dublin pizza: Manifesto

35. a love of Dublin pizza: Dublin Pizza Company

36. a love of Dublin pizza: with my dad

37. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness

38. thank you! round 2!

39. a love of Dublin pizza: and every other pizza

40. ahh-oooooh werewolves of london

41. a special london edition nerd alert

42. defying gravity is a WICKED good time

43. that wanker Van Morrison

44. The Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre

45. LA girls love London green juice

46. Super Bowl LII Champs at Wembley

47. champagne fizz and fruity cocktails

48. How-to: DIY Pallet Garden

49. dublin tattoo magic

50. juneteenth

51. thank you! Maxim round 4!

52. dublin bog bodies

53. dún laoghaire ice cream

54. local celeb sighting

55. 13.1 in Dublin

56. thank you! Maxim round 5!

57. every girl likes a bad boy

58. poolbeg lighthouse

59. conflict, bias, and propaganda in belfast

60. bow to your lord mayor

61. HAPPY HAMILTON DAY!!

62. Maxim Cover Girl Quarter-Finals!

63. gulliver's travels in belfast

64. all aboard the HMS Caroline

65. all aboard the RMS Titanic

66. you know nothing, jon snow

67. cave-born shadow babies

68. afraid of heights?

69. giants and their egos

70. the Kingsroad

71. sunsets in Donegal

72. derry dining chains

73. Maxim Cover Girl Semi-Finals!

74. Spontaneity is Key

75. Dear Nana

75. blasket island centre

76. Nana's blue tin cookies

77. a dance lesson in Dublin

78. dublin to Royal Portrush

79. Shane Lowry's Open Championship

80. maxim and Belfast Chinese food

81. Irish beachy wild women

82. my Irish love, Cork

83. my Irish love, Cork: hot chocolate

84. my Irish love, Cork: knit life

85. my Irish love, Cork: English Market

86. my Irish love, Cork: Blackrock Castle

87. one year ago today

88. pastis and the French Riviera

89. French Alps swim session

90. French weddings

91. Saucisson and delicious olives

92. wine and mustard at Château Virant

93. beers, brats, and salt mine showers

94. salted white dresses and blue satin sashes

95. salt mines and bowling alleys

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